1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to hunting equipment. More specifically, the present invention relates to a dispenser for scents and aromas.
2. Background Art
The use of scented formulations to attract game or fur bearing animals by hunters and trappers is a time-honored technique that has been in use for at least 100 years. A variety of natural and synthetic formulations are utilized to appeal in a variety of ways to the olfactory senses of the animals, whether to arouse the animals' curiosity or to otherwise attract such animals to the location of the hunter's blind or the trapper's trap. Quite often, such materials, usually in liquid form, have been derived from the urine or glandular secretions of such animals, and are, in many cases, quite odorous and foul-smelling. Other types of scents designed to mask or conceal the odor or scent trail of a hunter or trapper are also in common, widespread use, including such fragrances as cedar, pine, and fresh earth.
In the mid-to-late twentieth century, the use of deer urine-based scents, in particular, became popularized by individuals and companies who began bottling and selling such animal fluids as an effective way to attract game animals, in particular, whitetail deer. Such scents were most commonly used by pouring them onto the ground in the area where the hunter had chosen to hunt, which technique commonly resulted in spills and leakage of the foul-smelling scents onto the hands and clothes of the user. Likewise, in pouring the scents onto the ground, much of the scent ended up being absorbed into the ground, which resulted in inefficient evaporation and dispersal, and excessive expense inasmuch as once the expensive scent was poured out, it could not be re-used.
Devices for storage and dispersal or propagation of scented materials are widely known in the art. A variety of containers housing and selectively exposing an absorbent material upon which a scented material is placed, to permit passive evaporation of such scents, is known. Such devices generally do not satisfy the need for a clean, convenient, compact, and leak-free way to handle, store, and disperse scents, and in the vast majority of cases, they do not provide optimum scent dispersal due to the limited surface area of the scent-absorbent material or scent-containing medium, some of which constitute no more than a small piece of cotton, felt or sponge material. Likewise, many of the scent containers and scent dispersal devices known in the art do not provide for adequate sealing of the containers, resulting in frequent leaks and spills of very malodorous materials. Furthermore, such devices often tend to be large and bulky, and frequently involve complicated, often failure-prone mechanisms. Finally, in most cases no adequate provision is made for loading the scent, deploying the device, and storing the scent without the user ever having to touch or come into contact with the often foul-smelling scented materials. The present invention is directed at providing just such an improved device and method for storing and efficiently dispersing hunting, trapping, and other scented materials.